THE partner of Nicola Bulley has spoken of his disgust after a controversial TikToker filmed him picking up his children from school during the hunt for the missing mum.
Curtis Arnold, a former barber from Kidderminster, caused a public backlash after sharing a clip of the moment the missing mum-of-two’s body was found in the River Wyre. The video was viewed nearly a million times.
Mr Arnold, who runs the DJE Media channel on TikTok and YouTube, formerly known as Curtis Media, shared several videos of him exploring the area whilst police were investigating Nicola’s disappearance.
Mr Ansell revealed his feelings about Mr Arnold’s actions in a new BBC documentary - The Search For Nicola Bulley.
Paul Ansell (Image: PA) Recalling Mr Arnold, Paul Ansell, said: "I went to pick the girls up from school one day and he was stood in the entrance of the car park, filming me turning up to pick my kids up from school. And I thought to myself you've got to be kidding me".
The show, which first aired on Thursday evening (October 3), explores the media coverage and the impact of “amateur internet sleuths” conducting their own investigations after the mum went missing in Lancashire.
Nicola Bulley disappeared on January 27, 2023 in St Michael’s on Wyre, shortly after dropping her daughters at school.
Her body was found in the river on February 19, about a mile from where she vanished.
Police had accused TikTokers of “playing private detectives” in the area amid her disappearance, and said they were “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours” relating to the case.
People on social media made false accusations about their being third-party involvement, and rumours were spread about a derelict house on the other side of the River Wyre, a red van in the area, a fisherman seen nearby and a glove belonging to Ms Bulley, which were all dismissed by police.
James Pinder, search advisor for Lancashire Police, said in the documentary that the third week of the search saw an "escalation" on social media.
He said: "We were getting reports of people hypothesising on social media that Nikki's body was in X location and then getting phone calls from local business owners, land owners saying I can now see a load of people coming down our drive with spades".
The documentary uses clips from Mr Arnold's videos, where in one he can be heard saying "I still think something untoward has happened here."
Becky Smith, the senior investigating officer, said: "There were a couple of individuals who caused significant concern. This is a missing person investigation where people are coming down to make money out of it by gaining clicks.
"We had to take dispersal orders out and we had to make arrests."
Mr Arnold was held on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice but not charged.
The Shuttle previously reported how Mr Arnold apologised to the family in a video.
He concluded his video with a message to Nicola Bulley's partner Paul Ansell.
He said: “Paul Ansell if you’re watching this I hope it hasn’t offended you too much and I wish you well with moving forward".
The Search For Nicola Bulley is now available to view on BBC iPlayer.
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